Trial set for Freedom man charged in brother's death

SANTA CRUZ &GT;&GT; A Santa Cruz County Superior Court judge set the trial date for a Freedom man charged with murder after he fatally stabbed his brother.

Judge Timothy Volkmann set a trial date of Oct. 20 for Autreydrez Maldonado.

Maldonado, 21, and his 17-year-old brother Jeovahni Maldonado were driving home from a Halloween party and got into an argument, according to witnesses. When the two arrived at their two-bedroom home at 38 Buena Vista Drive, where they lived with their sister and mother, the argument escalated into an fight where Maldonado stabbed his younger brother in the neck with a knife.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys both said Maldonado stabbed his brother. But his attorneys argued the action was not an act of malice and was out self-defense, citing the younger Maldonado's larger stature and weight over his older brother.

A third brother drove the younger Maldonado to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

At the preliminary hearing in January, Santa Cruz County Sheriff's deputies testified Autreydrez Maldonado told investigators that he did not mean to kill his brother.

If convicted, Maldonado faces life in prison.

Maldonado is being held in Santa Cruz County Jail in lieu of $750,000 bail.